Dr. Keith Thomas, Senior Pastor of the Cottage Hill Baptist Church in Mobile, Alabama, has been diagnosed with PANCREATIC CANCER. The diagnosis was discovered on Monday, tests are being done, and reports are forthcoming. Pancreatic cancer is a very serious cancer.

Keith and I have been friends since college days, and he is one of my best friends on this earth. We talk regularly of life and ministry. He and Karen have four children, with the youngest a senior in high school.

Keith was at First Baptist Church in West Palm Beach for many years, until his most recent move to Mobile, Alabama to pastor Cottage Hill. He has gone through major storms over the past four years due to a law suit filed against him and the Florida church. It has been hanging “in the system” of the liberal Palm Beach County for I believe almost four years. He and the churches have had to deal with the biased unfair reporting of the secular press upon many occasions, which has been tough not only on the Florida church, but the Mobile church. The suit is seen as a violation of the first amendment to the point that Jay Sekulow is now Keith’s attorney, due to the seriousness of what this could mean for other churches. This is a big-time win for Keith, but he has lived under enormous personal stress and pressure for this period of time.

How can you pray?

• For the only Divine Healer to heal Keith of this serious disease.
• For wisdom to come to Keith and Karen as they discern where they need to go for the most capable help for their particular situation.
• For peace to be be upon them in the morning, during the day, and even at the darkest part of the night.
  
• For his church to come alongside of Keith and his family in an unprecedented manner.

As Christians, one of our greatest opportunities is to pray for others. I call upon you to mobilize prayer groups all over the world to pray for Keith. This is a man of God in deep need. May you join me in activating the forces of prayer globally. We need your help immediately.

To the glory of God alone, may you Lord heal my brother in Christ.

It is a tremendous challenge to understand the times in which we live. Without a question, we are living in the Last Days. I do not understand all nor do I know the day or hour when the Lord will return, but we are nearer today than ever before.

We live in TIMES OF GREAT UNREST. There is a certain level of discontent that exists in each of us. There is an element of unrest in our lives. We see this personified in so many ways. When we are not at peace, others around are not blessed by our lives. When we raise our children while we are not at rest, we raise a generation of discontented children who
become discontented adults.

We live in TIMES OF GREAT SKEPTICISM. I am amazed at the skepticism in our day, the kind that is filled with distrust. This skepticism turns into criticism which eventually turns into cynicism. This lack of trust turns into distrust which creates disarray in families, organizations, businesses, teams, and even churches.

We live in TIMES OF GREAT NEED. I am really convinced that the needs in the lives of people are greater today than ever before. There is an element of neediness. Now I do admit, most do not understand they have a need because they are blind spiritually. I am a man in need. I believe each of us is in need. Yes, I am reminded of something I grew up singing and I close with this today.

In times like these, we need a Savior.
In times like these, we need an Anchor.
Be very sure, be very sure,
Your anchor holds and grips the Solid Rock.

This Rock is Jesus, Yes He’s the One,
This Rock is Jesus, the Only One.
Be very sure, be very sure,
Your anchor holds and grips the Solid Rock.

With Coach Houston Nutt announcing his resignation last night as the Head Coach of the University of Arkansas Razorbacks, the university of this state has a major decision to make in the next few days. Coach Nutt gave 10 years of his life to the state of Arkansas, and we should all be very grateful. His passion and love for our state is obvious. As memories of his success here are recounted, his final game will be one of the all-time great Razorback games in the triple overtime defeat to the #1 team in the nation, the LSU Tigers. I was away on Monday at a retreat for pastors, but am returning today. I have not seen anything on this, but I do have a few thoughts I want to pen for you today.

Many may say, “Well, it is just football, I mean, how important is it really?” Yes, I am a football lover, a Razorback fan, and I realize my perspective may be a little skewed. Yet, I believe I live in a real world and understand how important the position, “Head Coach of the University of Arkansas Razorbacks” really is. How important is it? I mean, as so much conversation turns futuristic and speculation abounds as to who that next coach will be, let me remind us all of some of the things a Head Coach is. He is . . .

• A representative of our entire state; in fact, he may be the most influential person in the entire state. He is seen on the media regionally, statewide, and nationally more than any politician or corporate leader in our state.

• An investor in the lives of young men and families and many of them, due to their skills, will become major influencers in America and the world. Coaches do not coach just for wins and losses – football is a vehicle to influence the lives of others. They expend their lives by investing in the lives of these young men, and some of these young players have little or no support from their families.

• A model citizen and person held up before these young men and our entire state. Your influence will not outweigh the respect you have for others. When a coach in a major university is respected and looked at as being a model for others to follow, his influence is huge on the lives of millions.

• A leader, a person who can cast the vision and take people with him to a better future for their lives, and in this case, for a program and a university. Like it or not, the Head Coach of a university is a leader. Leadership is so very important in all areas of life, and yes my friends, a coach must be a dynamic leader.

• A coach to these young men as they walk through life. The reason I love the game of football is that it is a great teacher of life. It can be used to teach people about various principles that are real in life. I also understand the real world of collegiate athletics: a coach has to be able to coach the game of football, hopefully achieving the goals set forth for him from the school he works for and yes, many times it really does come down to “wins and losses.” In this high expectation world and big business athletics, wins and losses do matter.

As the powers to be determine who the next Head Coach of the Razorbacks will be, those of us who believe in prayer need to pray for God’s will to be done in this matter. This is not a light decision at all, but one that is very important to our state. As you review these five thoughts I have penned; remember, this decision is very important. For those of us who profess faith in Christ, we should pray – even about these kind of decisions. The only influence we may have is a “prayer influence.”

I believe in prayer.

What a weekend – full of football and food! For a guy like me, that is hard to beat. In our annual tradition since Josh has become a Head Coach here, whenever we are in the playoffs over Thanksgiving weekend, we have the coaches and their families over to our home. Since we played at home on Friday night, we did not have all of them like normal, but we had a great time with those who were with us. Jeana made a deluxe Thanksgiving lunch!

Our applause to the Springdale Har-Ber Wildcats and the Fayetteville Bulldogs for a great season. They played each other twice this year, with Har-Ber winning the first one, but Fayetteville won the State Championship game. We have players, coaches, and fans from both schools in our church. We congratulate them all for a great season and “hats off” to Fayetteville.

Our Shiloh Saints move to the State Semi-final round this Friday night in a BIG game at 7:30 p.m. here in our stadium. We would love to have you attend because we will need all the help we can get to win this one. Hopefully, the weather will not be 30 degrees like last Friday night. Think about coming. It is a great social event with some great football.

The Hogs won a big one on Friday . . . one of those games that will go down in history. In the 3rd overtime, a defensive stop moved the Arkansas Razorbacks to an 8-4 season, defeating the #1 team in the country.

Well, I could go on and on as you know. I am sure you have had enough football, so just go back to work today and gave a good day.

Enjoy your day.

I am so proud of our young men who play High School Football. What a great and wonderful sport to enjoy. It is usually not clouded by media hounds or a difficult base. Much is happening this weekend in our region.

On Saturday noon in Little Rock, The Springdale Har-Ber Wildcats will play the Fayetteville Bulldogs for the 7-A State Championship. I am so proud of Chris Wood, Head Coach at Har-Ber High School. He has done a great job taking this young program and elevating it to championship level. We have assistant coaches from both schools in our church and we say to each of you: “Do your best . . . win!” Thank God for high school coaches who want to make a difference in the lives of young people.

On Friday night at our Champions Stadium, Shiloh has a HUGE State Quarter-final game at 7:30 p.m. The opposition is Lavaca High School. We need to do our best to come to this special game and support our young men and coaches. This should be an exciting game, especially on Thanksgiving Weekend. There is nothing like High School Playoffs on Thanksgiving Weekend.

At this time of the year, some win and keep playing – claiming championships – and some lose, going home to get the basketballs out. Well, we hope our Shiloh Saints continue to win.

This Sunday is special: Do not miss it! It will be very memorable . . . I promise you!

This will be my last blog until next week unless some kind of emergency occurs, which we pray will not happen.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Let’s think about how we can prepare our hearts for the Thanksgiving experience. We know it is much more than Turkey and Pumpkin Pie. Thanksgiving is about giving gratitude to God for all He has done for you. Think on these things . . .

• Thank God for something physical: your health.
• Thank God for something material: your house or car or a certain possession you enjoy.
• Thank God for your family: list them by name and tell God one specific thing you are grateful to Him for that is in their life.
• Thank God for your job: your boss, your colleagues, your salary, and so much more.
• Thank God for a friend: a special friend who replenishes your life.
• Thank God for something spiritual: name a specific spiritual blessing God has given to you.
• Thank God for some pleasure you enjoy: a specific thing you enjoy – from shopping to hunting to going to ballgames to hanging out with some special people.

Oh my friends, there is SO much to be thankful for in your life. There is no reason to grumble or complain. God is so very good to each of us.

Prepare your heart for Thanksgiving.

I am so grateful for the privilege of private and public worship. Yesterday reminded me of this great privilege we have in the Lord.

At Pinnacle Hills this past Sunday, we celebrated Josh Stanbery’s 5th anniversary at our church as Worship Pastor. I am so grateful to God for Josh and Angela. I love them dearly. I stand amazed at their spiritual and personal growth. As well, he takes us weekly into some great moments with God. Yes, I thank our wonderful Lord for bringing Josh to our church five years ago. Amen!

Yesterday on the way to and the way home from church, I was so blessed in private worship through music of Kim Noblitt. I was listening to his CD on both occasions. He is a gifted song writer and obviously a gifted worship leader. I am so very thankful to God for bringing Kim and Suzanne to walk beside us on our Springdale Campus.

I am filled with deep gratitude to God for the ministry of Kim and Josh. I am telling you my friends, we are so very blessed. Let the Lord minister to you weekly through these men. Oh by the way, listen to them even away from church. God has gifted them, and we are most grateful to God for them.

Yes, God is good to give us some great leaders to walk beside me in worship.

The heart of our church will be demonstrated on Sunday afternoon and Monday all day through the distribution of our Blessing Baskets. This Blessing Basket ministry is led by Doug Sarver, our Global Missions Pastor and his missions team. These fine staff members,mobilize hundreds of our people to do many things. Our people put together these baskets of food that will feed families for Thanksgiving Day.

This year we will provide meals for over 3,000 FAMILIES through the Blessing Basket Ministry. By the time Sunday and Monday arrives, hundreds of hours will have been given to plan and to put the baskets together. Then on Sunday afternoon at Pinnacle Hills and all day Monday at Springdale, we will distribute these gift baskets.

Each one of these people will experience a worship service led by Doug Sarver where he not only ministers to their human need for food, but their spiritual needs. The gospel of Jesus will be shared. People will come to Christ. Some of these people will become active in our church. The great news is not only will 3000 families be provided food, but 3000 families will be encouraged by spiritual truths being shared with them. I am so very grateful that for several years this ministry has dominated this specific weekend before Thanksgiving.

Yes, this is the heart of our church, ministering to people who are in need. At times, we are caricatured as something else, which is so untruthful and unfair. The heart of our church has been, is, and will be helping people. This is just one of the reasons God has shone His favor upon our church.

I am thankful for Doug and his heart for people. Please pray for him on Sunday and Monday – the responsibility is massive organizationally, but even greater spiritually.

Thank God for a church with heart!

Dr. Scott Kaufman, our Director of Healthcare Ministries, in his diligent pursuit to reach those in the health care industry in our region, has written the following article to appeal to this unique group of people. Take 3 minutes to read it. It is great. Dr. Kaufman is a prolific reader, and he will probably be writing something like this weekly. Enjoy.

APOLOGIA – Theological Reflections for Today’s Busy Healthcare Professional
*a service of the Healthcare Ministries of The Church at Pinnacle Hills

Does God Believe in Atheists?
Scott E. Kaufman
Director of Healthcare Ministries

For two consecutive weeks he sat quietly through the Sunday morning worship time. But as soon as the pastor stepped up to the podium to preach, the man would don a set of earmuffs and begin reading a copy of atheist Richard Dawkins’s book, The God Delusion. His purpose?—to protest the “irrational” belief that God exists.

Denying that there exist sufficient grounds to justify belief in God, atheists conclude that the only reasonable position is to be an atheist. But the Scriptures tell us that God has given mankind sufficient evidence of His existence—evidential grounds which are sufficient in fact to leave all mankind (even the atheist) “without excuse.” Why? Romans 1:19-20 tells us:

Because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.

Creation itself declares the existence of a Creator. In Psalm 19:1 we read, “The heavens are telling of the glory of God, and their expanse is declaring the work of His hands.” This information goes out “to the end of the world” (v.4), and no one is exempt from God’s revelation of Himself through creation. Therefore every human being already knows that God exists, though fallen, sinful human nature often leads them to “suppress” this truth, thereby heaping even greater wrath upon themselves (cf. Romans 1:18). But while God’s revelation of Himself through creation is sufficient to condemn us for unbelief, it is not sufficient to bring us to a saving knowledge of God. Therefore, He has also given us the Scriptures through which we can come to a fuller, saving knowledge of God through His Son Jesus Christ: “Now this is eternal life: that they
may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.” (John 17:3, NASB) To sum up:

1. All people know enough truths about God to be without excuse, and often know many more.
   
2. The unbeliever’s disobedience has intellectual implications, and the Scriptures declare it is a “stupid” response to God’s revelation. (cf. Psalm 14:1; Romans 1:21,22)
3. Unbelievers lack the obedience and friendship with God to “know” Him in the fullest, biblical sense—a knowledge that can only come through faith in Jesus Christ.

Does God believe in atheists? Not according to what He has revealed to us in His Word. So when the time comes for each of us to give an account of ourselves before God, none will be able to use the excuse, “I didn’t know.” No, God does not believe in atheists.

Think About It…
While there continues to be a high incidence of belief in God in the US public, studies have shown that physicians are less likely to believe in God than the general population. For example, one survey in Vermont involving family physicians showed that 91% of the patients reported belief in God as compared with 64% of the physicians.1 A 1975 survey of psychiatrists showed that 43% professed a belief in God.2

1 Maugans TA, Wadland WC. Religion and family medicine: A survery of physicians and patients. Journal of Family
Practice. 1991;32: 210-213.
2 Psychiatrists’ viewpoints on religion and their services to religious institutions and the ministry. American Psychiatric
Association Task Force Report 10, Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association, 1975.

One would have to have his or her head buried in the details of life not to notice the growing and emerging health care industry in Northwest Arkansas. I began to see this occur over five years ago, knowing the explosion would come within the next few years. Well, it has come. New hospitals are being built, new doctors are moving here, and nurses and technicians as well as others are needed to assist in these medical facilities, doctor’s offices, and clinics across the region.

I have called Dr. Scott Kaufman here to lead and assist us in ministering and reaching out to these precious people who work in the health care industry. Dr. Kaufman has a Doctor of Pharmacy degree, a Registered Nurse degree, a Theology degree, and has been published as well as taught others in their realm of specialty in health care. For the past three years, he has been working as a full-time Pharmacist in Louisville, Kentucky while earning his Master of Theology degree. He is a prolific reader, gifted writer, congenial person, and has a genuine heart for God, desiring to reach those who work in our health care industry in this region.

I have never heard of a church that has targeted this specific group of people, but the potential is unlimited. These dear people extend their lives for others, refusing their own needs at times so that people can be helped. They serve us in many ways, and now our church is serving them. Yes, Dr. Kaufman is based at our Pinnacle Hills campus, but is already ministering across the entire region.

Please tell all people in the health care industry about him and this specialized, targeted ministry. I am convinced in years to come there will be hundreds of testimonies of how Dr. Kaufman invested in people’s lives practically and spiritually. Life-change will be discussed and talked about. He will do all sorts of equipping, helping individuals to “live life,” but also investing in these persons individually. The sky is the limit. Pray for him to have God’s mind on how to minister to this unique group of people who have real life needs daily.

Have any person in the health care industry email Dr. Scott Kaufman at scottk@churchph.com. He can inform them where the ministry is and what it is already offering. He will sit down with them, get their thoughts, and involve them as well along the way.

I appeal to you: Pray for Dr. Scott Kaufman to have the mind of Christ for this ministry, the spirit of Christ to minister, and the power of Christ as he does it. Encourage him and support him along the way.

Let’s trust God to raise up a mighty ministry to those who serve in health care in any realm in Northwest Arkansas.